The drive to his dad's wasn't that far, especially since he took his motorcycle and didn't walk.

The drive was in fact maybe a little too quick, Cole believed he didn't have enough time to prepare himself.

Lou Brookstone stood in his driveway, hand resting under his cane as he watched his son pulled up with his dangerous mechanic vehicle that he hated so much.

He reminded his son constant times on how much he did not like the fact that he used a motorcycle to get to where he needed to be.

And his son reminded him constant times that his father may not like it but his son liked it and as long as he was being safe, that's all that should matter.

Lou watched as Cole carefully pulled into the driveway, as slow as he could without going too slow, resting his foot on the floor and stopped using the gas.

Cole took his keys off the ignition, quickly putting them in his pocket. He looked up at his father, his green eyes staring into Lou's brown eyes.

Lou stared at Cole, he rolled his eyes. He shook his head in annoyance, gripping onto his cane. Cole noticed his dad's look, it made him grow more nervous than he already was.

"Nicholas, I wish you would wear a helmet when you're riding that ridiculous bike." Lou complained, hissing the word "ridiculous," as he waved his cane around Cole's motorcycle.

"A helmet is the least of my worries, dad." Cole replied, getting off his motorcycle. Lou licked his lips, dropping the conversation before it turned into a heated one.

"How was therapy?" Lou asked, Cole got off his motorcycle, he made sure the motorcycle did not fall before walking towards his dad's house.

"It was um... Memorable." Cole replied, looking away. Lou raised an eyebrow, following his son into the house.

"Meaning?" He asked, Cole opened the door, stepping aside to let his dad walk inside.

The doorknob was cold, it sent shivers down Cole's spine. Cole gripped tight into the doorknob, the last time he's felt the coldness of this doorknob was when he sent to that boarding school.

So he could become a Blacksmith like his father; when he wanted was to hide in his room and cry.

He remembered if he held the doorknob long enough then his hand would be numb, and it somehow would influence his body and then he would be numb, not being able to feel anything.

His father took away whatever emotions he could ever have when he sent him to that boarding school. Lou wanted a dancer, Cole wanted a father.

They both didn't get what they wanted that day.

Cole blinked away the unnecessary tears that wanted to escape his tired eyes. He rolled his eyes, hoping no tears would appear.

"Nothing dad, how are you?" Cole asked, shaking his head. He walked inside the house, making sure the door was closed before he locked it.

"I'm quite well, thank you for asking. How are you?" Lou replied, asking about his well being while walking towards the couch.

Cole shrugged, crossing his arms as he looked around the house. He looked anywhere but at his father; he wasn't ready to make eye contact with the man he forever disappointed.

He stared at the pictures that his father had hanging up, his heart ached as he caught a glimpse at a certain one.

His mother.

The picture was when Cole was born, his mother was holding onto baby Cole, her hair was in a messy braid.

She still looked beautiful, her green eyes that she blessed Cole with were sparked with joy, tears at the corners of her eyes as she held onto Cole's hand.

Lou was in the picture too, he looked younger, happier. He had his arm around his wife, kissing her cheek as he held the camera to take a picture of the beautiful moment that will be a haunting memory for eternity.

"I'm okay." Cole lied, immediately looking away from the picture. Lou raised an eyebrow, not looking at his son, only staring at the tea as he poured some into a cup.

"Just okay?" He pressed, listening to the soft footsteps that were going towards him. Cole took a seat on the other couch next to Lou, leaning his head back.

"A little tired." He admitted, rubbing his temples. Lou sighed, pouring another cup of tea.

"Cole." He spoke, Cole groaned.

"Fine, a little hungry too." He replied, his head still leaned back.

"Cole." Lou spoke again, Cole lifted his head up. Giving up from trying to rest, he looked over at his father.

"What?" He asked, slightly annoyed. Lou glanced up at his son, making eye contact with the black ninja.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you are just okay?" Lou questioned, Cole crossed his arms, watching as Lou gently passed the cup of tea on the table towards him.

"No, that's why I said I was tired and somewhat hungry." Cole answered, taking the tea. He blew air towards the tea before taking a sip, Lou nodded.

He wasn't ready to talk. Lou knew that there was something up with Cole but he also knew that Cole didn't want to talk about it. Not just yet.

"I made biscuits." Lou stated, Cole licked his lips before taking another sip of his tea.

"Sounds delicious." He replied, Lou got up from the couch, grabbing his cane.

"I'll go grab them then." Lou responded, Cole's eyes widened as he watched his father make his way over to the kitchen; he quickly got up from the couch.

"You don't need help?" Cole asked, a slight panic hiding in his voice. Lou didn't notice, he shook his head, waving his son off.

"No, I've been taking care of myself for years now. Just sit and drink your tea Cole." Lou ordered, Cole immediately sat back down.

He started to take deep breaths, he clutched his shirt tightly. His knuckles turning white from the strength he used for the bottom of his shirt.

Oh no, don't leave him.
Don't him alone.

Cole's eyes wandered around the house, trying to avoid looking at the family photos. The photo of him and his dad when Cole was five was teasing him, the photo was a reminder of when Cole won the school talent show for doing one of his father's dance routines.

Lou was so proud, his mother was the one whom took the photo. She was the one who wanted for the house to be filled with many photos of their wonderful times together.

It broke Cole's heart that now all the family photos were only hurtful memories, his dad would never be proud of him like that again.

Home wasn't really home anymore.

Look away. Just look away from that photo, Cole stared over at his left, seeing a photo of last year, the Day of the Departed.

The photo was him and his dad, hours after Cole had to fight master Yang.

When everyone forgot about him, when he was almost disappeared from the fact no one remembered him.

The photo that Cole was in, the photo that was taken, was a hour after he received that scar. It looked fresh, a permanent scar.

His scar now burned, Cole hissed in pain. He closed his eyes, holding his scar.

"Cole, close it."

That voice was back, Cole looked up. His eyes widened immediately, master Yang stood right in front of him.

Cole gasped, jumping back, knocking over the cup of tea. It fell on the floor and shattered, master Yang smiled at him.

But the smile wasn't genuine, it scared Cole. Yang's smile was creepy, the pupils in his eyes were dilated but not in a good way.

Yang's smile was big, wide, Cole could see every tooth that Yang had. He tilted his head, slowly frowning.

"You didn't close it." He said, staring deep into Cole's eyes. Cole didn't say anything, he couldn't. He was frozen with fear, he could only stare at Yang.

Close it? What was Yang talking about? Wasn't Yang supposed to be gone? Was he really here or was Cole finally losing his mind?

"What was that?!" Lou yelled from the kitchen, which grabbed Cole's attention. Cole looked to his left, seeing his father was walking as fast as he could to the living room.

"Cole! What happened to your tea?" Lou  questioned, Cole raised an eyebrow.

Could he not see Yang? Was Lou pretending to not see Yang so he could surprise attack him?

That didn't make any sense, Cole anxiously swallowed before looking back to where Yang was at.

But Yang wasn't there, Cole blinked twice, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to where Yang was at again, but he was still gone. Was he never there?

"Cole! You got glass everywhere!" Lou yelled, breaking Cole's trail of thoughts. Cole shook his head, looking at the floor.

His cup of tea was on the floor, the tea spilled on the couch and the glass shattered all over the floor.

"Sorry dad, I-I'll get it. I'll get it, I'll get it." Cole apologized, getting on the floor and picking up his mess.

"Nicholas don't clean up the mess with your hands, use a broom." Lou scolded, watching as Cole completely ignored him.

Cole grabbed as much of the shattered glasses on the floor as he could, making sure he didn't miss a single one.

"Nicholas, grab a broom." Lou insisted, but Cole wasn't listening. He was grabbing the glass as fast as he could, but of course that was a mistake.

A piece of glass cut him, Cole flinched from the pain. He accidentally dropped the pieces that he had picked up, making more of a mess.

"I told you to grab a broom, now you're bleeding. I'll deal with this, go clean yourself up in the bathroom." Lou scolded again, Cole held his injured hand and made his way to the bathroom without another word.

Cole could hear his father's comments, he was still scolding him even though they weren't in the same room.

Cole turned the light on for the bathroom, turning the fossil and resting his hand under the water. He stared at himself in the mirror, he needed to calm down.

Cole could hear his own heart beating, and his heart did not sound calm. His scar still burned, he couldn't tell which burned more, his scar or the cut on his hand.

Right, the cut on his hand. Cole looked down at his hand to see if he was still bleeding. He was, but his blood was green.

Cole raised an eyebrow, staring at his blood in horror. It was green and it was glowing, his blood was vaporizing with the touch of the water. Just like his vomit from this morning.

"What the actual fuck is going on?" Cole asked himself, pulling his hand away from the water.

The bleeding stopped; but it still needed to be treated. Luckily for Cole, his father kept the first aid kit in the bathroom under the sink.

Cole grabbed the first aid kit and treated his hand properly. He grabbed a white bandage and wrapped it around his hand, his hands shook as he tried to not think about his blood.

"Psst."

Cole froze. Was he hearing things? Did he actually hear that? What was that? Cole nervously swallowed, he slowly looked up.

He was making eye contact with his reflection, the mirror in the bathroom, nothing odd about that. Cole took a deep breath, his breath was shaky.

"Cole."

The voice came from his right, Cole whipped his head to his right. Nothing, no one. Cole furrowed his eyebrows, looking back at the mirror, now annoyed.

"CLOSE IT!"

His reflection yelled at him. His reflection was not his reflection. His reflection looked like him but as a ghost, his eyes glowing red, his mouth opened wide, very very wide, sharp teeth exposed as blood dripped down.

Cole flinched back, away from the mirror, eyes wide from horror. His back hit the door, he could hear his reflection laughing at him.

Cole refused to look back at his reflection, he quickly left the bathroom. He was running at this point, running as fast as he can back to the living room.

Lou whipped his head around, seeing the panic look on Cole's face. Cole stood in front of his dad, looking back at the hallway that lead to the bathroom.

"Cole, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Lou asked, slightly confused with the way his son looked.

Cole quickly nodded, not looking away from the hallway. Lou frowned, looking at the hallway.

"Why are you looking over here?" Lou asked, Cole shook his head, still looking at the hallway.

"Um I'm sorry for breaking your cup." Cole apologized, avoiding the question his father asked him. Lou shook his head, completely forgetting about the shattered tea cup.

"It's just a cup, I'm more worried about my son." Lou admitted, reaching over to touch his son's face.

Cole's face was warm, his eyes that his mother had gifted him was torturing Lou as he stared right at Cole.

"Why?" Cole asked, a little puzzled. Lou frowned, what was he doing wrong?

A son should never ask his father why he was worried about him. Never.

Lou's hand was rough, perks of always holding onto a cane to give you support just to walk, or even stand.

Cole frowned, looking away from his dad. He gave him a side smile, taking his seat back on the couch.

"Have you seen yourself?" Lou asked, sitting back down on the couch. Cole rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at his father's shoes.

"Unfortunately." He mumbled, thinking about the incident that happened in the bathroom.

"Cole, you're a mess." Lou pointed out, shaking his head. He held his cane tight, bouncing his leg.

Cole's black hair was messy, his shaggy hair wasn't combed, Lou could tell Cole just ran his fingers through it. Cole wore a plain black T-shirt, it was baggy so Lou couldn't see much of the muscles his son gained over the years.

His black sweatpants were dirty, covered with old paint from months ago when he tried to paint on a canvas since his therapist said it would be calming for Cole.

But it was only frustrating for Cole, he couldn't figure out what to paint and how to paint. Art was never his thing, Jay and Cole only ended up throwing paint at each other.

Cole's black converse were dirty, very much old. As much as Lou did not like his son's outfit, what worried him was Cole's face.

Cole looked tired. Bags under his eyes, his light tan skin was growing more pale. Cole's nails were black, chipped and were in desperate need of cleaning.

"A hot mess, I bet." Cole joked, running a hand through his hair. Lou frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"Have you talked to your therapist?" He asked, Cole nodded.

"Mhm, remember you already asked how therapy was?" He reminded his dad, slouching on the couch.

"Ah right, I forgot." Lou replied, watching as Cole crossed his arms, licking his lips.

"She says that she's retiring." Cole said, Lou raised both eyebrows.

"Really? What a shame, she was the best." He replied, shaking his head.

"If you say so." Cole snarled, rolling his eyes. Lou quickly looked over at his son, not understanding his son's response.

"What does that mean?" He questioned, Cole's eyes widened.

Shit. He should've kept his mouth shut.

"I just mean I don't really agree with you on that." Cole replied, Lou blinked twice.

"Why not? She's been your therapist for so long Cole." Lou explained, Cole could only shrug.

"Doesn't make her the best." He argued, fidgeting with the nail polish on his nails.

"Did today not go well in therapy or something for you to be saying this?" Lou asked, watching how distant Cole's eyes looked.

"I mean yeah sorta." Cole shrugged again, he sighed and sat himself up.

"I tried telling her what's been going on, how I feel but she basically told me to get over it." Cole added, he shook his head, clutching his fists.

"She doesn't really listen dad, I-

"She's been your therapist for so long Nicholas, she definitely listens." Lou disagreed, wagging his finger at Cole.

And for some reason, that upset Cole. What did Lou know about listening to someone? Lou Brookstone was the most stubborn human on Earth.

"Yeah more than you ever have." Cole sneered, Lou frowned.

"Nicholas." He warned, Cole shook his head, looking over at his dad.

"No dad, why are you taking her side?" Cole asked in disbelief, Lou sighed. He glanced at his son, rubbing his shoulder.

"Well because her side makes sense, Cole you seem to be stuck in the past." Lou admitted, Cole scoffed.

"I wouldn't be so stuck in the past if you actually opened up, or ever listened to what I have to say." Cole spoke, defending himself. Lou groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes.

"Oh Cole, please don't start." Lou begged, Cole scoffed again.

"You brought it up, not me." He pointed out, Lou nodded.

"You're right, so I'm dropping it." He remarked, Cole glare at his father.

"Tch, not surprised." He mumbled, but unfortunately Lou was still able to hear the comment his son had made.

"What do you mean by that?" He inquired, Cole rolled for his for the what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Oh come on dad, you do this every time we get into it. You always want to drop the conversation when you're in the wrong." Cole acknowledged, pointing out one of Lou's flaws.

"That's not true." Lou disagreed, shaking his head.

"It is and you know it." Cole argued, he frowned. Cole stared down at the floor, not making eye contact with Lou.

"If mom was here, sh-

"Well your mom isn't here, I am." Lou interrupted Cole, pointing at himself. Cole clenched his jaw, he could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest.

"Unfortunately." Cole hissed, Lou was taken aback with Cole's harsh response. Lou wagged his finger at Cole again, as if he was that eight year old boy again.

"You watch your mouth." Lou scolded, Cole sarcastically chuckled.

"Oh and what are you going to do? Ignore me? Send me away again? Wouldn't be the first time dad." Cole sneered, Lou slammed his hands on the coffee table; and Cole flinched like he was that eight year old boy again.

"I did that for you, I was doing you a favor." Lou snarled, defending himself. He refused for his son to talk to him with such disrespect, Cole was in the wrong in Lou's eyes.

"No you weren't, you were doing yourself a favor. You were ashamed that I wasn't a good dancer like you, so you made sure I didn't make a mistake like that again." Cole argued, looking at his father in disbelief.

Can you believe that Cole used to look up to this man? That Lou Brookstone was Cole Brookstone's role model? Yeah, he couldn't either.

"Of course I was ashamed! My son, my flesh and blood, couldn't keep my legacy alive, you failed the Brookstone family legacy!" Lou yelled, Cole stood up from the couch.

"Well you failed me!" Cole yelled back, he could feel his blood boiling.

"Who is he to talk about failing someone? Your father has failed you his whole life, how DARE he try and blame you!"

For the once, Cole was listening to the voice in his head. His head ached, his scar burned, nothing was making sense. But whoever or whatever was talking to him, they were right.

"Screw the family legacy dad, I was seven! Seven and spending most of my childhood trying to please my father instead of being a kid." Cole yelled again, throwing his hands up, Lou stood up, shaking his head in regret.

"Cole, I-

"Why do you love your legacy more than you love me?" Cole asked, tears daring to escape his eyes. He pointed at the many pictures that were hanged up, the picture frames that held those photos of Lou and his many trophies.

"I needed my dad's love, not his approval." Cole added, his voice cracking, he was on the verge of tears.

Lou stood there, he hesitated, watching as Cole wiped his eyes, not daring to cry in front of his father. He hasn't cried in front of his father since his mother's funeral.

"Tch, whatever I'm out here." He snarled, blinking away a few years. Cole turned to walk away, to leave the house.

Lou rose both eyebrows, he opened his mouth to speak, to beg his son to stay. To apologize, to hold his baby boy, but his anger was much stronger than his love for his son. 

"Yeah that's right Cole, walk away! That's what you always do when things get too hard! You don't face the hard truth and cold reality!" Lou yelled, hurt by his son's actions, he couldn't understand why Cole didn't just stay?

Cole stopped walking, he whipped his head around. Staring at his father in disgust, did Lou really just say that?

"No that's you dad! You ignored everything and everyone, you couldn't face the fact that mom was gone, but I could! You were a coward." Cole snapped, Lou's eyes widened, he instantly looked hurt.

Oh no.

Cole sighed miserably, rubbed the back of his neck. Way to go Cole, you've gone too far now.

"D-Dad, I'm sorry. That wasn't fair of me, I-

"I may be a coward Nicholas but you are selfish. I lost my wife, the love of my life and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. You don't know how that feels, and I never wish you do." Lou said, interrupting Cole's apology.

Cole hung his head low, ashamed of himself. How could he say that? Was it just bottled up emotions? There could've been a better way to talk about that, right?

"You're right, look dad, I-

"I think it's best if you leave." Lou interrupted again, walking towards the front door. Cole looked taken aback, did he really take it too far in order for his father to ask him to leave?

"You serious? Come on dad, that wasn't cool of me but let's talk about it. Please don't shut me out again." Cole begged, his heart was racing.

Please don't shut him out again, Cole couldn't handle it. He hated when Lou shut Cole out, he hated when Lou gave him the silent treatment. It was the worst, especially as a child, and especially when the only reason Lou would give him the silent treatment was because Cole messed up on the dance routine.

"Drive safe." Lou mumbled, looking away from his son. Cole sighed in defeat, he walked towards the door, looking at his dad.

But Lou refused to look at his son, Cole didn't exists to Lou. Cole got the message, he blinked away his tears again as he walked out of the house.

Lou slammed the door, startling Cole. The black ninja jumped from the noise, his heart dropped from the angry force Lou used to slam the door.

Lou Brookstone was mad at Cole, he wasn't going to talk to his son. No matter how much Cole would beg for his dad to speak to him, Lou won't. The cycle keeps going...

Nothing Ever Changes.